This invention relates to a soot collector for diesel-powered internal combustion engines having a filter medium and a fluid metering device for feeding a specified quantity of a soot remover by means of compressed air onto the filter medium.
Various processes are in use in order to free soot collectors, in particular for diesel-powered internal combustion engines, from the soot deposited on the filter medium. In one of these processes, a soot remover is applied to the filter medium in order to lower the ignition temperature of the soot, and consequently bring about combustion of the soot at temperatures which can usually be achieved during the normal operation of the internal combustion engine. A process of this kind and a device for implementing it are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,535. The disclosure of this patent relates essentially to the metered addition of a pulverulent soot remover, and particularly to the control means for the controlled and periodic supply of the soot remover. However, it is not possible to discern from this publication how the proportioning of the quantity of a fluid soot remover required to be metered can take place.
There remains a need for a soot collector having a metering device which achieves an exact, reliable metering of the soot remover and which functions with little or no servicing and is simple and economical to manufacture.